fatty ribs?


 
J

Jeff Davidson

TVWBB Super Fan
Folks,

I made four racks of baby back ribs last night. It was a really cold night and it was hard to keep temps in the 225-250 range. The ribs were on for 5.5 hours and felt done. Unfortunately, for about half the ribs, there was a small layer fat right under meat that didn't fully render. The ribs were delicious but I'm wondering if there's a fool proof way to make sure all the fat has rendered.
 
Foolproof? Not really. I'm not a big fan of back ribs myself, because of their relative lack of fat. That said, to render more fat via cooking make cooking more efficient, i.e., use foil.
 
KK, what are the best BBQ joints in Las Vegas in your opinion? Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
Good question. I have not been to any in some time. Several here I have never been to. Last one was Paul Kirk's R.U.B., which was horrible. It's gone. I am not a big fan of Mike Mills's places, Memphis Championship Barbecue, of which their are a few. Still here though I've not been in a while.

I'll check out a few places here if you'd like. I'm in and out these days (leaving later today), so it might be a while before I can though.

Just FYI. On the 'try list':

Top Notch, a barbecue food truck usually parked at Plant World on W Charleston

Lucille's, in The District, in Green Valley Ranch. (I'm skeptical of this one but...)

Buzz on W Ann

Cookie's on W Owens
 
Best 'cue in Vegas is now back in St. Louis, where he belongs, and cooking at Pappy's & Bogart's.
Heard Memphis Championship Barbecue is hit or miss but I've never been. Hear that if you MM's really good stuff that you have to go to the original 17th St in Murphysboro, IL. but I've been to the one in O'Fallon, IL. several times and it has always been great!
 
Larry,
I'm sorry, but I couldn't disagree more. I'm a MM fan, in theory at least....I lived in Carbondale (right next to Murphysboro) during his heyday and thought the original 17th Street was great....but that was 20ish years ago & I haven't eaten there since I moved.
I live in O'Fallon now, and was REALLY happy when the old Super Smokers in O'Fallon was bought out by Mike and became another 17th Street addition.
That is, until I started eating there.
All I have to say about his establishment now is: overpriced, skimpy portions of mediocre BBQ. Disappointing at best. Maybe it's mis-managed, I don't know.
I gave that place one too many chances to impress, and not one time did it do so. (OK...the mac & cheese is pretty good...but I got UPCHARGED for it!!! Mac & Cheese, really? Also, the bread pudding isn't bad)
I stopped going there.
I drive by there almost every day, and the parking lot speaks for itself: almost never even half full. And since they added a drive thru (!), I've yet to see A SINGLE car at the window.
As much as I'd like to think it's good, I just don't think so....but, to each his own. That's my opinion.
 
I guess I meant from a testing point of view. I had more time, was there any sign or test (other than bite into a rib) to determine that there was still some fat to be rendered?
 
just make sure the meat's pulled back from the end of the bone ~3/8" or more, & that it's tender.

I think ribs are naturally fatty.
 
To stay on topic,i think it depends alot on the butcher. I have had em cut up in alot of different ways. Some of them with extra fat in odd places. The only thing you can do is to inspect em fully in a raw state and let the fatty ones get a head start.
 
Tim - Sorry to hear that your experience at 17th St. has been bad. I've been several times and it has always been good.
Of course, if you're in O'Fallon, just drive across the river to Pappy's or Bogart's. Ex Super Smoker, Skip Steele, is pitmaster at both. Been to Pappy's many times but haven't made it to Bogart's yet.
Couple times a year that I get down that way, I usually stay in or near O'Fallon, I try to go to both 17th St and Pappy's. If I can only go to one - It is hard to decide.
 
- guys, why don't you start a thread in the travel forum on these restaurants?

- what do people at competitions do? As a judge, I've rarely had people turn in fatty ribs so they must have this sussed out.
 
Interesting point Kevin. I usually foil ribs but didn't on my last cook. Even though the spares were tender, I did notice that they were much fattier than usual. I cooked them around 325 degrees.
 
Jeff,
Sometimes they leave some extra meat on top of a slab when they trim it. when I cook ribs, I always trim this layer off, then remove the fat layer. On spares, it's usually on one end. On back ribs, they usually leave a strip of loin meat that runs the length of the slab. I trim it off. It is loin and it only dries out by the time the ribs are done. When I do ribs, I'm only interested in the meat "between" the rib bones. Any meat thats on top of a slab is "pork chop" meat and I don't want it messing up a nice slab. However, maybe the unrendered fat was part of the reson why your ribs were delicious.
 
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